Real heroes don't fly

24 June,2009 11:29 AM IST |   |  Balaji Narasimhan

While some superheroes don't need vehicles like the rest of us to get around, the really tough ones have their bikes, which they drive with great skill


While some superheroes don't need vehicles like the rest of us to get around, the really tough ones have their bikes, which they drive with great skill

Okay, so we have a boring superhero in red, blue and gold, who says 'up, up and away' and flies off to save the good guys, while also saving a ton on fuel costs in the bargain. Many other superheroes also manage to get by without vehicles, most notably Spiderman, who unfortunately makes the city dirty with all his webs.

u00a0But the truly tough guy heroes Batman and Wolverine also ride bikes, which is saying something because they have access to far better vehicles in which to get from point A to point B. While Batman usually prefers his car, the Bat Mobile, he uses the bike on some occasions, where speed and the ability to move quickly are paramount. Of course, for us viewers, the best part is that we can see some swell road hugging.


While Batman is himself unbeatable, Wolverine manages to go one up on The Dark Knight himself. In the recent movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine, our hero manages to turn his bike full circle by using the claws on his left hand in order to evade the baddies.

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Real heroes: While superheroes can fly, others like Batman and Wolverine prefer to use bikes

Of course, to really understand Wolverine's love for bikes, you should watch one of the episodes called Blind Alley in the TV series X-Men: Evolution. Here, Logan and Scott (Cyclops) are near Logan's bike and Scott, thinking about how to tell Jean Grey that he loves her, asks, "Logan? Have you ever, you know, really cared for someone? I mean, you felt it so strongly, you couldn't even get the words out." To this, Logan replies, "Yeah, once. Most beautiful bike I ever saw. I was so speechless, someone else bought it."

While Superman and Spiderman are no doubt popular, Wolverine and Batman perhaps compel our attentions more. Why? Is it only because, like the rest of us, they also ride bikes? Or is it merely because the are generally seen as dark characters?

u00a0While there is weight in the second argument, the first argument too is not without its appeal. The fact that a superhero does something similar to us always makes that hero closer to us. In any case, such scenes are definitely more fun to watch!
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Wolverine Batman Superheroes Bikes Vehicles